Love is “In His Corner”

Vina Arno loves to write, and she is not constrained by genre. This month, her first novel In His Corner, was released by Lyrical Press, an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp. It’s a contemporary romance featuring a boxer named the Juggernaut, and an emergency room doctor.

Vina has also worked as a journalist and written an historical novel featuring Douglas MacArthur. She was kind enough to get in the ring with me and answer a few hard-hitting questions (just kidding…we’re all friends here.)

Who’s your favorite character in the book?

Both the hero, Tommy Raines, and the heroine, Siena Carr. He’s an Olympic gold-medalist boxer known as the Juggernaut and she’s an ER doctor. They’re opposites. She was born into money, while he comes from a blue-collar family. She’s an Ivy League graduate; he’s a college dropout. She heals people, while he knocks them out.

Is your personality more like your hero or heroine?

I’m nothing like my characters. The only thing I share with Siena is my love for Italy. In the book, her parents named her after the Italian city. It’s no coincidence that Siena is my favorite Italian city. I started writing this book one week after returning from Tuscany.

What’s your favorite scene and why?

My favorite is the first chapter, which is set inside an ER—a very unlikely place for romance. The Juggernaut goes there for stitches and Siena is the attending physician who treats him. They have a singular encounter that leads to a hot but rocky relationship.

What did you get stuck on when writing this book?

I’m very lucky that I didn’t get stuck at all. Writing this romance book was a “treat” for me after spending 10 years researching, writing, and rewriting a historical novel about Douglas MacArthur, the iconic World War II general. I started writing In His Corner two months after I finished rewriting the MacArthur novel.

Vina Arno is a pen name used by Cindy Fazzi, a Philippine-born American writer who has worked as a journalist in the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States. Her short stories have been published in the Snake Nation Review, Copperfield Review, and SN Review.

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DARE TO LOVE

The only tangible benefit Dare Landis has of finally claiming the title of Marquis of Raynsforth will be that the current marquis has finally gone to the Devil where he belongs.Until then, Lord Landis will continue to enjoy life on his own terms…as a heartless rake who’s beholden to no one.Nivea Horsham knows there’s more to Dare than he reveals to the world. She’s loved him since her older brother brought his ridiculously handsome friend home from school all those years ago. But getting him to notice her has proven to be an impossible endeavor.

Can Nivea shatter Dare’s carefully crafted facade and show him how to love?

Works in Progress

Catching a Pixie is a contemporary new adult novella. Lindsay, a graduate student at Roselle University in Delaware doesn’t have time for romance. But when she meets a handsome state trooper from New York, she can’t stop thinking about him. Too bad he lives four hours away–hardly a practical arrangement. Is their attraction strong enough to go the distance?

Gabby has had a crush on her best friend Lindsay’s brother for years. She could never resist Sean’s cute smile, wavy brown hair or gorgeous green eyes. But since he’s considered the charming screw-up in the family, with no prospects for the future, she’s never acted upon it.

That changes the night of Lindsay’s wedding. Sparks and clothing fly. And while the evening turns out even better than Gabby had hoped, there are unfortunate consequences.